Uncertain times can feel like a game of survival for many in the wine industry. With tighter budgets, shifting consumer spending, and market challenges, it’s tempting to cut back on non-essential expenses like staff training and development. Yet, those who invest in their teams during tough times often emerge stronger, with a distinct edge that sets them apart from the competition. Perhaps we’re preaching to the choir, but for anyone who needs to ‘sell’ the concept to others, let’s explore why investing in training your team now is not only essential but could also be the key to long-term growth, stability, and resilience.

Elevating the Guest Experience: Training as a Core Strength

A well-trained sales team creates an unmatched guest experience that can directly impact your bottom line, especially when fewer guests may be walking through the door. Every guest interaction is an opportunity to build loyalty and increase conversions, whether through wine sales, club memberships, or brand loyalty. Well thought out onboarding, regular and consistent coaching, and ongoing sales training gives your team the skills they need to connect with guests authentically, respond to diverse needs, and personalize each experience in a way that creates lasting impressions.

Guests are more likely to return to places where they feel valued, respected, and delighted. With shifts in guest counts in every region, a well-trained staff is vital to the winery’s success. With well trained and frequently coached staff, even a lower number of guests can generate a significant impact, helping to steady sales in the face of reduced foot traffic. Danny Meyer (a New York City restaurateur and the Founder & Executive Chairman of the Union Square Hospitality Group) refers to the “constant, gentle pressure” of everyday manager/staff interactions to reinforce the standards:

"Constant, gentle pressure is about setting high standards, holding team members accountable, and correcting them — repeatedly, enthusiastically, and with kindness — when they start to drift from those standards. It’s also about accepting the infinite nature of this work. If you lead a team, this nudging and reminding literally never ends."

Investing in training can create a learning organization who is growing. It can create more employee engagement and productivity, boost morale and reduce turnover, and increase employee retention as well as attract new talent.

Building Sales Savvy and Driving Revenue

One Case Study of Companies with High Training ROI shares that companies investing in employee training saw an average of 24% higher profit. Another report shows organizations that invest in employee training are 11% more profitable than those who don’t.

The Association for Talent Development research lead one Chief Talent Officer to believe that “most organization’s should consider their training budgets as a percentage of payroll and plan on fluctuations in budget based on changes in strategy, operational requirements, or specific initiatives…organizations should be somewhere in the two to five percent of payroll range.”

A team that has received training in direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales techniques is far better positioned to drive revenue through effective, confident sales. In DTC sales, hospitality and sales are interwoven; employees who are trained to think of themselves as brand ambassadors and matchmakers for the guests’ preferences are inherently more effective at turning a tasting into a sale. Training equips staff with the skills and confidence to initiate conversations about wine purchases and memberships and to upsell or cross-sell when appropriate.

In a climate where every sale counts, skilled sales team members can make all the difference. How does your team stack up? Are they seeking the WISE Triple Score with every guest?

1. Asking for the Order – in a brand appropriate, guest service focused way, it is critical that staff is asking every guest to purchase wine. Creating that FOMO, offering a value proposition they just can’t refuse, and reminding them of what they liked is critical.
2. Warm, genuine invite to Wine Club – again, in a brand appropriate way, ensuring every guest has verbally been invited to the club, even the ones whom staff doesn’t think may want to join. Ensure the team is selling to the guests’ wallet, not their own. Let the guest decide. Right now, wineries are mentioning “Wine Club” less than 36% of the time when WISE Mystery Shopped. Any wonder club acquisition is down?
3. Data Collection – for many brands, the key to successful sales online, over the phone, and via text is to have robust data collection happening in the tasting room. This goes beyond “transactional information” collected during the reservation or sales process but is rooted in the team thinking long term about each guest. Today’s visit is just one touch point in a long relationship, yet less than 24% of wineries are asking to keep in touch.

Strengthening Brand Consistency and Reputation

Trust is the foundation of brand loyalty – trust comes from consistency and quality. But how does an organization create and sustain this? Training and processes. If the learning process isn’t designed and planned, the outcome is unreliable and inconsistent. It can take just one breach of trust for a customer to never return again.

Brand reputation is built guest by guest, and in hard times, a consistent brand is a powerful differentiator. Well-trained employees serve as ambassadors for your values, quality, and authenticity. They know how to articulate the brand story, make guests feel welcome, and uphold high standards that earn trust and foster positive reviews. In this way, investing in staff training becomes an investment in your brand’s reputation.

Team members who feel they’ve been invested in will be more willing to recommend their winery. Positive employees are a significant contributor to company reputation.

Why invest in training team members? The real question is, why not?